Slide closure for containers



Feb. 24, 1942. H. w. RUEGER SLIDE CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 15,1941 fierrrlanll yae ger;

Patented Feb. 24, 1942 W I jazvaess SLIDE, CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS HermanW. RuegerfLanca ster, 'PaL, assignor to u 7 Liberty" Canand' SignCompany, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application Fe ru ry 13, 1941,Serial No. 378,814

' -4 Claims: (Cl. 221-62) This invention relates ,to slide closures forcontainers and constitutes a contin'uation-in-- part, as. to subjectmatter common'to said applie cations, of my application Serial No.334,436,1iled May 10, 1940. l

The primary objects of the present invention are; to provide anextremely. tightpermanently sift-proofv closure particularly adapted foruse with spice or powder cans or containers, or other receptaclescontaining finely powdered substances, comprising a stationary closuremember having a medially apertured-dispensing panel, and a slidableclosure member disposed for linear sliding movement on said stationarymember and having a closurelpanel disposed for movement into snugregistering frictional engagement with said dispensing panel; to providein such a closure construction cooperating dispensing and closure panelswherein the cooperating marginal surface portionsof said panels aredisposed in the same or contiguous, planesand the medial portions' ofsaid panels are resiliently domed to-' wards each other to increase theclose frictional contact therebetween; to provide in such a closureconstruction, in combination with the 010- rangement and disposition ofstops or position sure and dispensing panels thereof, a novel, ar-

ing means adapted to arrest the movement of said slidable member at anintermediate fpoi'nt between completely open and closed positionswherein shaker perforations in the closure panel are disposed in properregistry with the dispens ing aperture of the dispensing panel, in whicharrangement one of said stops is yieldable to, per mit continuedmovement of said slidable member upon application of continued pressurethereto, said yieldable stop being separated by a rigid dividingabutment or shoulder from the dispensing panel of its respective memberso as not to transmit yielding movement to said panel with consequentimpairment of the close frictional engagement between the respectiveclosure panels and consequent loss or impairment of the siftproofqualities of the closure; and to provide such a closure wherein thedividing shoulder or abutment of one of the closure members may co-poperate with and engage the stop of the other of said members todetermine the completely closed position of the slide closure, p Intheaccompanying drawing: Figure 1 represents a perspective view of acontainer having the preferred embodiment of my invention appliedthereto; V I,

Figure 2, a section on the line 2-2, of Figure 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows, and showing indotted lines the slide cover orslidable member disposed in proper position for useas a shaker top;Figure 3, a view similar to Figure 2, but with the slide cover moved tocompletely open position;

Figure 4, a section along the line 44 of Figure 2, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Figure 5, atop plan'view ofthe preferred embodiment of the invention inthe open position shown in Figure 3; and, l i

Figure 6, an enlarged'fragmentary detail longitudinal section through,the slide cover showinga slight modification wherein the exposededgethereof is folded under or hemmed.

Referring now in. detail to the accompanying drawing, the preferredembodiment of my improved slide closure is illustrated, therein asvapplied to a container body A, which may be of any usual type composedof, sheet metal or other suitable material and having a bottom B whichif desired may be formed from a separate piece, seamed or otherwisesuitably secured .to said body A.

My, improved slide closure, shown as applied to said container body A,consists of a stationary member or container top, designated I in itsentirety, secured in the opening defined by the upper edges of the canor container side walls, and a slide cover or slidable member,designated 2 in its entirety, longitudinally slidably disposed on,

said stationary member I. Each of said members I and 2 may be formedfrom a piece of sheet metal, or other preferably thinv sheet material,by

usual sheet metal stamping'or othersuitable operations.

Considering first in detail the structure of the stationary member ortop I, it -,may be seenlby.

bounded by the beading I3, is divided by a medially disposedtransversely extending abutment or rib or shoulder 5 into upper andlower panels 3 and 1 respectively, both panels 3 and I being below andpreferably parallel to the plane of the upper edge or periphery of themarginal beading l3 and at different levels relative thereto and to eachother. i

The lower panel I may be formed flat and have an upwardly projectingyielding stop, or positioning means l5 suitably disposed or positionedtherein to cooperate with the downwardly projecting fixed stop or rib l2of the slide cover 2 in the manner and for the purpose hereinafter setforth; while the upper panel 3, which may suitably be termed thedispensing panel, may be upwardly arched or curved if desired, bothlongie tudinally and in a transverse direction, so as to impart a slightdome shape or spherically curved shape thereto, as will be apparent frominspection of Figure 3, and as will be referred to in more detailhereinafter.

Substantially medially disposed in the dispensing panel 3 is adispensing aperture which may be in the form of a spoon opening 9, asshown, adapted to be covered and uncovered by slidin movement of theslide cover 2. If desired, the dispensing aperture or spoon opening 9may be sealed prior to the initial opening of the container by means ofa usual punch out plug or portion [I secured to one edge of the opening9 so as to be downwardly bendable to an out of the way position, asillustrated in Figure 5.

Now considering in detail the structure of the slidable member or cover2, the same consists essentially of the closure panel 4 and means forslidably supporting the same in close frictional engagement with thedispensing panel 3 to enable it to effectually cover and uncover thedispensing opening 9 thereof, or to enable said closure panel 4 to beproperly positioned over the opening 9 for use as a sifter opening orshaker top, as will be set forth in detail hereinafter.

To accomplish the foregoing ends the slide cover may consist of asubstantially rectangular member having the closure panel 4 formed as adownwardly offset preferably downwardly domed portion adjacent theforward end of said cover 2, said panel 4 being connected to the mainbody portion of the cover 2 by means of a substantially perpendicularmarginal connecting wall or flange 8.

In order to slidably mount the slide cover 2 on stationary member I theformer may be provided with oppositely disposed longitudinally extendingparallel guide flanges or guides 6, each of which is curled downwardlyand inwardly about the respective longitudinally extending portion ofthe beading l3 disposed therebeneath. As thus disposed, the flat opposedside portions of the closure panel 2 rest on the upper peripheral edgesof the beading l3 and are normally maintained thereon by the guides 6.Thus it may be seen that the longitudinally extending portions ofbeading l3 function as tracks to guide the slide cover 2 in itsmovement.

For the purpose of maintaining the slide cover 2 in completely closedposition it is desirable to provide means such as the usual snap orprojection l4 formed adjacent the rear edge of said cover to ride upresiliently over the rear portion of beading l3 and snap down on theinside thereof as the cover 2 is moved to completely closed position.

In order to permit use of the container as a shaker can or dispenser oneor more shaker holes or perforations l may be provided adjacent theforward edge of the panel 4 to be disposed in registry with thedispensing aperture 9 when the cover 2 is moved rearwardly part waytowards open position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. It shouldbe noted that the series of perforations 10 are slightly spaced from theextreme forward edge of the panel 4 so as to leave an imperforate orunbroken sealing portion or area ll which will seat tightly against theforward edge of the dispensing aperture 9 and prevent the materialwithin the container A from escaping therefrom except through theperforations l9.

Means for accurately positioning the shaker openings of cover 2 in theproper registering position relative to the dispensing aperture 9 willconsist of the fixed stop or downwardly pressed rib I2 formed at theextreme rear edge of closure panel 4 at its juncture with the rearportion of connecting wall 8 to cooperate with the yieldable stop [5 ofcontainer top I.

The closure panel 4 will preferably be slightly longer than thedispensing panel 3 so that in the completely closed position of theslide cover i1- lustrated in Figure 2, the stop 12 thereof will lie justbehind and abut against the shoulder or abutment 5 of the stationaryclosure member I. As thus arranged, it will be seen that although thestop 12 extends below the level of the panel 3 it will never inoperation be able to ride up 5 thereon or deform the same so as todecrease the frictional engagement thereof with panel 4, but will engageand cooperate with the abutment 5 to determine the completely closedposition of the slide cover 2 and to prevent such riding up.

As an added refinement of the slide cover 2, and where economy ofproduction thereof is not essential, it will sometimes be desirable tofold under or hem some or all of the edges thereof in the mannerindicated in Figure 6 wherein the forward edge of said cover 2 is hemmedas at I60. Such hemming, in addition to enhancing the appearance of theclosure in its entirety, makes the same safer to handle inasmuch as itdoes away with exposed sharp edges which might go out the hands of theuser.

It will be noted that in the assembled operative condition of closuremembers I and 2 the cooperating panels 3 and 4 respectively are disposed"with the marginal portions of their adjacent sur- 5 faces insubstantially the same or contiguous planes parallel to the direction ofsliding movement of the cover 2 so as to be in snug sliding engagementwith each other, while the inner or medial portions or panels 3 and 4are preferably 40 normally bulged or domed towards each other.

That is, the dispensing panel 3 is normally upwardly domed, or arched inboth a longitudinal and transverse direction, so that in the opencondition of the assembled closure illustrated in Figure 3 the medialportion thereof projects slightly above the plane of engagement of saidpanels 3 and 4. Conversely the closure panel 4 H is arched or domeddownwardly in the same man- -ner and to substantially the same extenttends to project resiliently slightly below the plane of engagement ofsaid panels 3 and 4.

The degree of curvature of panels 3 and 4 has been somewhat exaggeratedin the accompanying drawing in order to make the same clearly apparent;however in actual practice the curvature of said panels need not be asgreat as shown and in fact may be such as will hardly be apparent uponcasual inspection.

332 Inasmuch as the two closure members I and 2 will be formed of sheetmetal or other inherently slightly resilient or resiliently flexiblematerial, it will be apparent that during movement of the cover 2 fromthe open position shown in Figure 3 to closed position, as shown inFigure 2,

C5 the two resiliently domed or curved panels 3 and 4 will tend toflatten each other out, and by mutually resisting such flattening andtrying to w maintain their normal domed shape will always maintain atight frictional sealing contact with 7 each other in the closedposition of the cover 2, or in the nearly closed position thereofwherein the shaker perforations ID are disposed in registry with thedispensing aperture 9 of the stationary member I 5 From the completelyclosed position of the cover 2, which position may be determined byengagement of the stop l2 with abutment or shoulder 5, the slide cover 2may be moved to the position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2wherein the stop [2 engages the stop l of the stationary member I toaccurately position the sifter or shaker perforations II] in registrywith the dispensing aperture 9 closely adjacent the forward edgethereof. Or where it is desired to move the cover 2 to completely openposition, as in Figures 3 and 5, to completely uncover the dispensingaperture 9 and permit removal of the container contents therethrough,the opening or rearward movement of the cover 2 may be continued pastthe point of engagement of stops l2 and I5, causing the fixed stop I2 toforce down and ride over the yieldable stop I5, such action beingpermitted by a resilient yielding of the surrounding portion of thepanel 1 in which said stop [5 is formed.

It is to be noted that,-due to the location of stops l2 and [5 relativeto the rear portion of wall 8 and the dividing rib or abutment 5respectively, it is impossible for engagement and relative yielding asbetween the stops l2 and Hi to impart any yielding or flexing or in anyway harmfully influence or impair the snug frictional contact betweenpanels 3 and 4, inasmuch as the material of the closure panel 4 adjacentthe upper or fixed stop I2 is prevented from yielding by the rigid rearportion of connecting wall 8 extending thereacross; the stop l2 andabutment 5 cooperate to prevent engagement of said stop with the surfaceof dispensing panel 3 in addition to determining the completely closedposition of the slide cover 2; and although the material of panel 1immediately surroundingthe stop [5 is free to flex or yield, and topossibly eventually take a permanent set, the rigid dividing shoulder orabutment 5 of the container top 1 serves to efliciently prevent thetransmission of such flexing or yielding action to the dispensing panel3.

It is further to be noted that although in actual operation of thepreferred embodiment of closure of my invention resilient pressurebetween the domed panels3 and 4 may cause the guide flanges or runners 6of the cover 2,to give very slightly adjacent their forward ends as theclosure panel 4 moves into tight frictional registering engagement withthe dispensing panel 3, permitting the entire cover .2 to assume analmost imperceptible upward slanting position, and possibly permittingthe extreme marginal portions of panels 3 and 4to become very slightlyspaced from each other, such very slight movement will not permit anyleakage of material between the panels 3 and 4 inasmuch as thedispensing aperture 9 and also preferably the sifter openings III willbe spaced somewhat away from sai dextreme marginal portions of theirrespective panels.

I claim:

, 1. A slideclosure for containers comprising, a stationary closuremember formed with an apertured dispensing panel, and a relativelylongitudinally aligned yieldable panel disposed at a level below that ofsaid dispensing panel, the juncture of said panels being defined by asharp transverse abutment, in combination with a closure panel disposedfor longitudinal sliding movement on said stationary member in snugfrictional engagement with said dispensing panel, said closure panelhaving a shaker opening therein, and means for limiting the slidingmovement of said closure panel comprising an upwardly projecting stopformed on said yieldable panel below the path of movement of saidclosure panel, and a stop projecting downwardly from the rear edge ofsaid closure panel for movement between said upwardly projecting stopand said abutment of the stationary member.

2. A slide closure for containers comprising, a stationary closuremember formed with an apertured dispensing panel, and a relativelylongitudinally aligned yieldable panel disposed at a level below that ofsaid dispensing panel, the juncture of said panels being defined by asharp transverse abutment, in combination with a closure panel disposedfor longitudinal sliding movement on said stationary member in snugfrictional engagement with said dispensing panel, and means for limitingthe movement of said closure panel comprising an upwardly projectingstop formed on said yieldable panel, and a stop projecting downwardlyfrom the rear edge of said closure panel for engagement with saidupwardly projecting stop.

3. A slide closure for containers comprising, a stationary closuremember formed with an apertured resiliently upwardly domed dispensingpanel, and a relatively longitudinally aligned yieldable panel disposedat a level below that of said dispensing panel, the juncture of saidpanels being defined by a sharp transverse abutment, in combination witha resiliently downwardly domed closure panel disposed for longitudinalsliding movement on said stationary member in snug frictional engagementwith said dispensing panel, the adjacent marginal surface portions ofsaid respective dispensing and closure panels being disposed to engageeach other in a plane parallel to the direction of movement of saidslidable closure panel and the medial portions of said respective panelsbeing resiliently urged towards positions above and below the plane ofcontact thereof, and means for limiting the movement of said closurepanel comprising an upwardly projecting stop formed on said yieldablepanel below the path of movement of said closure panel, and a stopprojecting downwardly from the rear edge of said closure panel formovement between said upwardly projecting stop and said abutment.

4. A slide closure for containers comprising a stationary closure memberformed with an apertured dispensing panel resiliently upwardly domedboth longitudinally and transversely, and a relatively longitudinallyaligned lower panel disposed at a level below that of said dispensingpanel, the juncture of said panels being defined by a sharp transverseabutment, in combination with a slidable closure member mounted forlongitudinal sliding movement on said stationary member, said slidableclosure member comprising a closure panel resiliently downwardly domedbothlongitudinally and transversely, and a depending continuous marginalwall serving to stiffen the marginal portions of said closure panel,adjacent marginal surface portions of said respective dispensing andclosure panels being disposed to engage each other during slidingmovement of said slidable closure member, and the medial portions ofsaid respective panels being resiliently urged in opposite directionstowards positions above and below each other.

HERMAN W. RUEGER.

